Coach Carlo Ancelotti has just made a shocking revelation to the media. In an interview with Il Giornale, the Italian coach boldly stated that Real Madrid will not participate in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 (scheduled to take place from June 15 to July 13, 2025).
“FIFA should forget about that tournament. The players and the Real Madrid club will decline to participate in it. A match for Real Madrid is worth around 20 million euros, while FIFA only pays us that much to compete in the entire tournament. Like Real Madrid, some teams will decline the invitation to participate in the FIFA Club World Cup.”
If what Ancelotti shared is true, it would be a significant blow to the ambitions of the World Football Federation in restructuring the tournament. It’s worth noting that Real Madrid is the reigning European champion after defeating Dortmund in the Champions League final.
Moreover, the amount mentioned by the Italian coach has surprised many. Previously, several sources revealed that each team participating in the FIFA Club World Cup would receive around 50 million euros, and this amount could increase to 100 million euros if the team wins.
The FIFA Club World Cup 2025 is organized in a new format. Instead of selecting the champions from continental cup competitions, FIFA has increased the number of participating teams to 32. The tournament also takes place in July in the United States, rather than at the beginning of the new year (or the end of the previous year) as usual.
According to Spain’s Relevo, Real Madrid has no intention of opposing FIFA. They will still participate in the Intercontinental Cup, the smaller version of the FIFA Club World Cup, with the old format in December. However, the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 is a different story, not just about prize money.
“Next season, we will start at the end of August 2024 and finish the season at the end of July 2025. It’s a crazy schedule, and everyone will slowly die because of it,” a Real Madrid insider said in an interview.
That’s a very realistic scenario. Real Madrid is the team with the latest rest in Europe due to their participation in the Champions League final. They also start the season earliest by playing the European Super Cup on August 14. Since then, the team will have continuous matches.
They will compete in La Liga, the Spanish Copa del Rey, and the Champions League. In December, the “White Swan” participates in the Intercontinental Cup. If they agree to participate in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, Carlo Ancelotti’s team will end the 2024/25 season on July 13. According to Relevo’s calculations, Real Madrid could play up to 72 matches in 11 months, averaging about 6.5 matches per month. That’s an overwhelmingly high number for any team.
Not to mention that many players from this team will participate in EURO 2024 and possibly the 2024 Olympics. With few rest days and an increasing number of matches, the risk of injuries is extremely high. Therefore, Real Madrid’s refusal to participate in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 is not entirely unreasonable.